Study published: What do potential implementers think about e-mental health interventions for caregivers?
In a recent study published in JMIR Human Factors, researchers explored different factors that could impact the implementation and design of e-mental health interventions for caregivers of people living with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Building capacity and considering equity were both important factors to think about when planning for implementation of e-mental health interventions for caregivers.
(Image removed)
E-mental health interventions have the potential to help improve the well-being of caregivers of people living with CKD. However, it can be very challenging to put e-mental health interventions into practice and we don’t have a full understanding of why this may be.
The aim of this study was to explore the views of potential implementers about the design and implementation of e-mental health interventions for caregivers. Potential implementers refers to professionals working in kidney care, mental healthcare or at non-profit organisations who could potentially be involved in implementing an e-mental health intervention.
The study included 18 potential implementers who were interviewed to get their perspective on what factors could impact the implementation of e-mental health interventions for caregivers. The authors of the study identified 29 factors that could impact the implementation of e-mental health interventions. Some factors could support implementation, for example, the relationships that exist between professionals and caregivers could make it easier for information about the intervention to be shared. Other factors would pose a challenge to implementing an e-mental health intervention, such as concerns about equitable intervention access, and low capacity (e.g. lack of staff and resources) among potential implementation organisations to take on a new intervention.
Moving forward it will be important to develop strategies to overcome implementation barriers, as well as consider how to leverage implementation facilitators to enhance the implementation process.
Read the article 'Potential implementers’ perspectives on the development and implementation of an e-mental health intervention for caregivers of adults with chronic kidney disease: qualitative interview study'. It is written by Chelsea Coumoundouros, Rabie Adel El Arab, Paul Farrand, Alexander Hamilton, Robbert Sanderman, Louise von Essen, and Joanne Woodford.